Fox Hopyard Golf Club East HAddam, CT
Date Reviewed: May, 2014
Fox Hopyard Golf Club opened for play in 2001 and was designed by Roger Rulewich, who also built The Crumpin-Fox Club, their sister course located in Bernardston, MA. The front nine is routed over the hillier portion of the property through narrow corridors lined by mature forests and scattered hazards. A number of holes feature sweeping views and dramatic elevation changes, requiring careful club selection to avoid trouble. The back nine is longer, but plays through the flatter portion of the property. While many holes are lined by woods or hazards, the fairways are relatively generous. The course’s main defense is its greens, which are large, but feature multiple tiers separated by steep slopes.
Course Information
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Course Rating
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Course Layout & Scorecard
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Hole 1
A drive left-of-center is ideal, avoiding woods left and right. A solid drive leaves an approach between 125-150 yards to an elevated green guarded by sand short-right and shallow mounding left. The safe miss is short as the putting surface is two-tiered, sloping generally back-right to front-left.
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Hole 2
A drive right-of-center is ideal, avoiding woods right and wetlands left. A solid drive leaves an uphill, semi-blind approach between 140-170 yards to a shallow green guarded by two bunkers short-left. Missing long should be avoided as the putting surface is pitched from back-right to front-left, defined by an upper middle tier that splits the green into three distinct sections. The safe miss is short-right.
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Hole 3
The third plays dramatically uphill from the tee to a wide fairway lined by woods left and right. A solid drive leaves an uphill, blind second shot between 210-240 yards to a shallow green guarded by two bunkers and steep slopes. Missing right should be avoided as the green falls away sharply. Players opting to layup should play out to the left, leaving the best angle to approach the green. The putting surface is three-tiered, sloping generally back-to-front.
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Hole 4
The scenic fourth plays downhill from the tee to a shallow green guarded by sand short-left and short-right. Missing long should be avoided as the putting surface is two-tiered, sloping generally back-to-front. Playing to the middle of the green is wise if the pin is set back-right.
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Hole 5
A drive played toward the lone bunker in view is ideal (300-yards to reach from the tips), avoiding woods left and right. A solid drive leaves a downhill second shot between 210-230 yards over a crossing creek to boomerang shaped green guarded by sand short-right and left. Players opting to layup should play just right of the bunker short of the creek. The safe miss is short as the putting surface is two-tiered, sloping generally back-right to front-left.
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Hole 6
The short sixth begins with a demanding drive, allowing players to decide how much carry he or she is willing to bite off. For reference, the second peak in the stone wall is 270-yards from the tips. A solid drive leaves an approach between 100-125 yards to a small green guarded by sand short-left. The putting surface slopes generously from right-to-left, leaving a difficult lag put to left hole locations.
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Hole 7
A drive just right of the left tree line played between 200-250 yards from the tips is needed to avoid trouble as the landing area is an island among scattered wetlands. A well-placed tee shot leaves an approach between 140-160 yards to a deep, but narrow green guarded by sand left and right. Approaches missing left also risk kicking into a pond. Missing long or right should be avoided as the putting surface is three-tiered, sloping generally back-right to front-left.
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Hole 8
The short eighth plays downhill from the tee over water to a wide, but shallow green guarded by sand short and long. The green is pitched slightly back-right to front-left, defined by a distinct lower, left tier.
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Hole 9
Longer hitters may need to pull 3-wood as two bunkers and wetlands pinch the landing area 270-yards from the tips. A solid drive leaves an uphill approach between 140-170 yards to green guarded by mounding and a lone bunker. Hitting the right tier with your approach is crucial as the putting surface is pitched from back-to-front, split into three-tiers by severe slopes.
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Hole 10
The tenth favors a drive played down the middle, avoiding woods left and right. A solid drive leaves an approach between –yards to a narrow green guarded by sand short-left. The putting surface is pitched from left-to-right, defined by a large swale that splits the green into three distinct sections.
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Hole 11
The eleventh plays slightly uphill from the tee over a large hazard to a wide green surrounded by shallow mounding. The putting surface slopes generally back-to-front, split into two distinct sections by a shallow spine.
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Hole 12
The challenging twelfth plays dramatically downhill from the tee to a generous landing area lined by woods left and wetlands right. A solid drive leaves an approach between 130-160 yards over wetlands to a shallow, but wide green guarded by sand short-left and mounding long. The putting surface is pitched slightly back-to-front, defined by a distinct lower-right tier. The safe miss is short-left.
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Hole 13
The long thirteenth favors a drive played right-of-center, avoiding woods left and right. A solid drive leaves an uphill approach between 160-190 yards to a boomerang-shaped green that wraps around a larger mound. The putting surface slopes generally right-to-left, defined by a lower back-tier. The safe miss is short.
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Hole 14
The long fourteenth plays to a small, angled green guarded by sand short-right and mounding long. The safe miss is short-left as the putting surface slopes generally back-left to front-right. The front section of the green is relatively flat.
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Hole 15
A drive right-of-center is ideal, avoiding wetlands right and out-of-bounds left. A solid drive leaves a second shot between 250-275 yards over a crossing hazard to elevated green guarded by sand short and mounding long. Players opting to layup should play to the 100-yard marker as the landing area narrows. The safe miss is short-right as the putting surface slopes generally back-to-front, split into two distinct sections by a central spine.
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Hole 16
The long sixteenth plays slightly downhill from the tee to a deep green guarded by two bunkers and large mounds. Missing left should be avoided as the green falls away towards the woods. The safe miss is short as the putting is pitched from right-to-left, split into two distinct sections by a large ridge.
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Hole 17
The seventeenth favors a drive played right-of-center, avoiding mounding right and a lone bunker left (275-yards to reach from the tips). A solid drive leaves an uphill approach between 170-200 yards to a large green guarded by sand short-left. Missing long should be avoided as the putting surface slopes generally back-right to front-left, defined by a lower, left tier.
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Hole 18
The finishing hole favors a drive played just right of the left bunker in view (270-yards to carry from the tips). A solid drive leaves a second shot between 225-250 yards to a deep, but narrow green guarded by sand short-left and a large pond right. Players opting to layup should play just short of the first bunker in view (70-yards short of the green). The putting surface is pitched from left-to-right, split into three distinct sections by a central swale.
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